South Central Samples

Well, with the upcoming Straight Outta Compton hitting theaters in a fortnight or two I thought I'd wrap up my sample compilations with the record that started it all. Pulling the material for this one was a real beast; the first thing I learned is that Dr. Dre had a lot of records in his archives and secondly, he produced in a significantly different way then DJ Ready Red of the Geto Boys did. While Ready Red tended to use pretty big chunks of his sample songs, Dre (and I guess Yella to an extent) used only the tiniest snippets from records. Of course there are a few exceptions ("Parental Discretion Iz Advised", "Express Yourself" and "I Ain't Tha 1") but for the most part only a quick drum loop, sound effect or guitar lick was lifted from source songs. And Dre also wasn't against modifying some of the material, case in point the classic drum beat to "Straight Outta Compton" is a significantly slowed down bridge riff from the Winstons' "Amen, Brother." With that being said I don't know if I would have been able to figure a lot of these out (or track them down) without a plethora of assistance from various sample libraries on internet.

Still, it was a little iffy adding some of the songs to the compilation. Including Beastie Boys' "The New Style" simply because Adrock's solitary one-second "Puttin' it on wax!" lyric is used in "8-Ball" was a bit of a game-time decision. Unlike the Geto Boys who culled most of their spoken word from Scarface, Dre used a ton of different records for quick vocal clips. Hell, I probably could have included the entire Eazy-Duz-It and N.W.A. And The Posse LPs as source material as well. Interestingly, a choice few of the sample tunes I included I am not actually sure when they are used in the respective song but I figure someone out there does. There are also a couple that I question their legitimacy - Fishbone's "Lyin' Ass Bitch' for one. Yeah, there's a loud "Biiiitch" yelled in both "A Bitch Iz A Bitch" and at the close of Fishbone's track but is it the same one....?

Once again, here's the song-by-song breakdown, and yes I added "A Bitch Iz A Bitch" simply because it is such a classic fucking song:

1. Straight Outta Compton
        • "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons
        • "You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic
        • "Engine Number 9" by Wilson Pickett
        • "West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson And The Street People
        • "Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" by The Gap Band
        • "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" by Bob James
2. Fuck Tha Police
        • "It's My Thing" by Marva Whitney
        • "The Boogie Back" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity
        • "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
        • "Funky President (People It's Bad)" by James Brown
        • "Feel Good" by Fancy
        • "Engine Number 9" by Wilson Pickett
3. Gangsta Gangsta
        • "Weak At The Knees" by Steve Arrington’s Hall Of Fame
        • "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William DeVaughn
        • "N.T." by Kool And The Gang
        • "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players
        • "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch
        • "Impeach The President" by The Honey Drippers
4. If It Ain't Ruff
        • "A Star In The Ghetto" by Average White Band & Ben E. King
        • "Don't Believe The Hype" by Public Enemy
        • "Ain't We Funkin' Now" by The Brothers Johnson
5. Parental Discretion Iz Advised
        • "I Turned You On" by The Isley Brothers
6. 8-Ball (Remix)
        • "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
        • "Paul Revere" by Beastie Boys
        • "Fight For Your Right" by Beastie Boys
        • "Girls" by Beastie Boys
        • "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William DeVaughn
        • "Yes, We Can Can" by The Pointer Sisters
        • "It's My Beat" by Sweet Tee And Jazzy Joyce
        • "My Melody" by Eric B. & Rakim
        • "West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson And The Street People
        • "Too Much Posse" by Public Enemy
7. Something Like That
        • "Take The Money And Run" by Steve Miller Band
        • "I Think I'd Do It" by Z.Z. Hill
        • "Down On The Avenue" by Fat Larry's Band
8. Express Yourself
        • "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
9. Compton's N The House (Remix)
        • "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" by Bob James
        • "Funky Beat" by Whodini
        • "It's My Turn" by Dezo Daz (featuring D.J. Slip)
        • "Cinderfella Dana Dane" by Dana Dane
10. I Ain't Tha 1
        • "The Message (Inspiration)" by Brass Construction
11. Dopeman (Remix)
        • "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players
        • "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life
        • "My Posse" by C.I.A.
        • "Freestyle Live (Edit Version)" by Roxanne (Fly) Shanté (featuring Biz Markie)
        • "I'm Bad" by L.L. Cool J
12. Quiet On Tha Set
        • "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds
        • "I Get Lifted" by KC And The Sunshine Band
        • "The Unsafe Bridge" by Laura Olsher
        • "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
        • "Take The Money And Run" by Steve Miller Band
13. Something 2 Dance 2
        • "You're The One For Me" by "D" Train
        • "Dance To The Music" by Sly & the Family Stone
        • "'Mighty Mouse' Theme" by The Sandpipers
        • "Change the Beat (French Rap)" by Beside
        • "ORCH5" by David Vorhaus
14. A Bitch Iz A Bitch (bonus)
        • "Papa Was Too" by Joe Tex
        • "Lyin' Ass Bitch" by Fishbone

Phew, what a list. Almost 4 hours of stuff. Y'know when I started writing this blog I was sure it was my swansong compilation but I gotta tell ya, after typing this all out I'm now sort of itching to do Eazy-Duz-It. But until then, sit back, crack a 40 or two of Old E and enjoy.

Part I                                        Part II                                        Part III

Be Ready Homeboy...

One of my weaker purchases back in 1989 was Arabian Prince's first solo cassette-single "She's Got A Big Posse." It was a simpler time where L.A. could do no wrong and I was blindly scooping up nearly everything remotely connected with Eazy-E and his Raiders hat-wearing crew. Had I realized Arabian Prince was the mastermind behind such forgettable N.W.A. album filler as "Panic Zone" and the execrable "Something 2 Dance 2" (seriously, did anyone ever not fast forward past that track?) I probably wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity to drop $5 for an arguably "four" song single. I've never heard anything since from the Prince so he gets a significant amount of beginner slack but for what it's worth "She's Got A Big Posse" isn't bad. Good grooves, samples and double entendres aplenty, he's got a solid voice and the lyrics fit in perfectly with what N.W.A. was doing at the time. Interestingly, I only just discovered Arabian Prince was a founding member of the Compton hip-hop quartet, only to be replaced by a young O'Shea Jackson upon his return to South Central from college. Good choice fellaz. The cassette rounds its running time out with an LP edit, radio edit, instrumental and the sample-heavy throwaway track "Now You Have To Understand."

Brother Arab

Jezuz Chrizt

For whatever reason, everything associated with Eazy-E in the mid-90's had that annoying "Z for an S" substitution - I'm surprised his posthumous press release didn't say "he died of AIDZ." Regardless, what we got here are three mildly attractive ghetto hoes rapping over typical South Central gangsta grooves. You'll probably remember their 1990 debut Livin' In A Hoe House solely for the pretty hot ass shot on the cover (the rest of the album is pretty forgettable, trust me). Evidently it sold enough copies to get Eazy to notice, (plus, c'mon, it's three bitches) leading to his production of this EP four years later. While it sounds a hell of a lot better than House, Az Much Ass Azz U Want (Jesus, I feel stupider just writing that) is still pretty silly. Every song is about pussy in some form or another, even the token "skit" is basically listening to one of the girls blow a guy or get her ass eaten or whatever. The opener "All That" is pretty good for what it's worth, and I dig the familiar back beats in "Body Snatcherz." The liner notes promise the upcoming Hoez In Training but, alas, the trio broke up within a year of this release. Supposedly they reformed in 2012 (according to a Facebook post uploaded to an Eazy-E fan forum so... ya know) but who the fuck knowz.

Hoez With Attitude

Merry Muthaphukkin' Xmas

Yeah, I know this is technically a repost but it's worth it... nothing brings "happy holidays" to mind like Eazy-E, right? Pretty much everything on this "maxi-single" (remember those?) kills but the festive finale really blows up the yule log. So get that 'ho under the mistletoe, grab a 40 and get some Christmas pussy. Enjoy.

Ho Ho Ho

 
Currently watching: Slither

Currently listening to: Method Of Destruction U.S.A. For M.O.D.

I guess he didn't listen to Van Halen...

Sorta weird when this CD dropped in 1992 - I guess Eazy wasn't one of the 6 or so million people who picked up Van Halen's 5150 in the 80's but he was busy slangin', jackin'  and fuckin' (evidently a LOT) so can ya blame him? This 5(ish) song EP (or what we old-timers back in the day called a "CD maxi-single"), while nowhere as good as Eazy-Duz-It, is probably his best post-N.W.A. work thanks to good production, a (welcome) sense of humor, and some really strong beats. Of course it's ridiculously silly and clearly shows Eazy needed a strong posse of contributors around him to keep the creative forces going but "Neighborhood Sniper" is probably his best song ever and even "Merry Muthaphukkin' Xmas" can raise a dry smile repeatedly. Eazy's lyrics are hit or miss, sometimes I'm not even sure if he knows what he's saying and is just babbling words for rhyme's sake (the sadly tongue-twisting nonsense in "Only If You Want It" being an obvious example). Whatever. This EP's very existence is simply as a rushed-to-the-market retaliation for Dr. Dre's parody of E in his Chronic-era "Dre Day" video. Too bad he couldn't get the (supposedly vast amounts of other) material mixed to complete his final LP (back then known as Temporary Insanity) before he passed on. Now we're just stuck with umpteen awful posthumous albums (a la Jimi Hendrix) thrown together by anyone who has the ego to call themselves a producer.

Merry Muthaphukkin' Christmas

 
Currently watching: Critters

Currently listening to: King Tee Tha Triflin' Album

Tha Muthaphukkin' Real Eazy

Since we're coming up on the 15-year anniversary(!) of Eazy-E's passing, I thought it high time to share one of the rarer (and finest) recordings of his career. Culled from the excellent Eazy-Duz-It, this obscure cassette single contained two fantastic remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin'". Extra verses and better beats helped these two tracks easily surpass their album originals. I'm sure they're on one of his many posthumous compilation CDs but at the time twenty years ago (and in my present-day music collection) they were cassette-only so enjoy this archaic stuff from their original magnetic tape sound recording - hiss included.

UPDATE 9.6.13: Fuck that muddy tape hiss, I've just relinked below to a great, clean, crisp copy - enjoy!

Remix My White Ass